Several Afghan civilians killed in US airstrikes

Zabul Gov. Ali Khail said US-led coalition forces made "a mistake" during operations against militants in the southern province and that civilians had died. He gave no details.

The US military denied civilians were at the scene of the fighting in Day Chopan district Monday and the district's police chief said Taliban insurgents had been hiding in the area. American officials said earlier that 18 suspected Taliban guerrillas and one US service member had been killed in the clash.

Another US service member died Thursday when militants ambushed a group of American military engineers near a road construction project in Paktika province. Another service member was wounded.

The death was the sixth US fatality since Aug. 4 when three US forces were killed in military operations in eastern Afghanistan. One American service member also died Tuesday in a roadside bomb.

Reuters adds: A Taliban commander was shot dead and an American soldier died in a training accident as violence continued ahead of Afghanistan's parliamentary elections scheduled for next month, officials said yesterday.

A US military statement said Qari Amadullah was killed near Wazikhwa in eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday.